Word: tokhtakhounov
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...Attorney James Comey, who announced the indictment in New York City, alleged that Tokhtakhounov "arranged a classic quid pro quo: 'You'll line up support for the Russian pair; we'll line up support for the French pair; and everybody will go away with the gold, and perhaps there'll be a little gold for me.'" The gold for Tokhtakhounov, Comey said, was to be the renewal of his expired French visa--which he never got. A simpler explanation might be that this tough guy was doing a favor for an even tougher mama...
...conversations between Tokhtakhounov and a woman believed to be Anissina's mother Irina Chernieva--a former Olympic figure skater who strenuously promoted Marina's career--were startling if not downright incriminating. In one, the Uzbek promised, "We are going to make your daughter an Olympic champion. Even if she falls, we will make sure she is No. 1." In another, a Frenchman called Chevalier (presumably a cohort) is heard assuring the Uzbek, "Even if the Canadians are 10 times better, the French with their vote have given them [the Russians] first place. You understand...
...neighbors in the posh Tuscan resort of Forte dei Marmi, Tokhtakhounov is a courteous, quiet gent often surrounded by gorgeous cars and fast women. To the Italian finance police and the American FBI, which have been tailing him for at least a year, he is a suspect in drug dealing, arms trafficking and money laundering--an international sleaze king with influential friends among Russian celebrities and Kremlin politicos...
...connected Tokhtakhounov to the Salt Lake caper until May, when the fbi obtained and translated wiretaps that the Italians recorded during the Olympics. Imagine their surprise at hearing Tokhtakhounov spell out his Olympic machinations. The U.S. issued a complaint charging him with two counts of conspiracy to commit sports bribery, and Italy slapped him into a Venice jail to await extradition. "He is astonished at the accusations," said his Italian lawyer Luca Saldarelli. "He is not interested in ice skating...
...there's no question that Tokhtakhounov is something of a sport. In the '60s he played soccer for Pakhtakor, the Uzbek Republic's team. "It is true he has some friends who are athletes," said Saldarelli, "but only soccer players...